


Danny Watches

by joannereads



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:36:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24650113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joannereads/pseuds/joannereads
Summary: A trickle of blood, a confession and a kiss.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 16
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm moving over my little ficlet and one shots from tumblr because few people see them over there. I should have done one a day, but I'm just posting them all in one go, so sorry about that. 
> 
> I think this is sweet, but maybe you'll disagree? Its alsonpossibly one of my favourites.

There is a thin trickle of blood slowly making its way down Steve's cheek. It begins somewhere in his hairline and, while he has issued orders and directed HPD, the trickle has drifted down towards his jaw. He talks animatedly, his arms all wild gestures and angry swipes and Danny's heart skips at the thought that Steve learned that from him. But while his heart seems to be skipping along merrily, his stomach is churning anxiously. 

Blood. 

Another too-close-for-comfort miss. 

Danny had been standing next to Steve when he suddenly found himself on the floor, a face full of dust. He heard the bullet whistling before the sound turning into a soft sucking noise and then the final chink as it hit the wall behind them. A split second of noises that had Danny panicking to his feet to check Steve over. 

But the other man was fine, already returning fire and ignoring Danny's pleas for him to get checked out.  
"Three days, Danno, I'm not letting them get away this time!"

Now Danny watches the blood and wonders if that same bullet might have killed him if Steve hadn't stepped in the way. 

He wonders if it would have killed Steve if Danny himself hadn't distracted him. 

Most of all he wonders how much time they have left before one of these bullets finally takes one of them way. 

How many more near misses before one of them dies? 

Danny realises his hands are shaking and his throat is tight and dry. His eyes sting with fearful tears. Can he be there when that final bullet takes Steve away? He strides away from the scene, away from the bustle of downtown Honolulu and towards where Steve abandoned the Camaro when they arrived. He wants nothing more than to drive away, far away into the fading sunlight, and just take a moment to breathe. He can't of course, because Steve has his goddamn keys.  
"Damn it, Steve!" he groans, throwing his arms in to the air.  
"What'd I do now?" Steve's voice is quiet but close behind him. Danny draws in a shuddering breath before turning on his heel to face down the walking death wish that is his partner.  
"You have my keys." The words are coarse in his mouth, rough on his tongue, because they fight with what he really wants to say as they slide out from between his gritted teeth. Steve passes them over wordlessly, which is odd. Danny takes them but he can't move. 

"I can't do this anymore," he whispers into the rapidly descending night. The sky is a mulberry blanket dotted through with the silver of stars, but Danny is blinded by the man before him. Steve takes up so much space. It's not like Danny hasn't noticed, but he doesn't always feel it so keenly as he is right now. Steve's eyes watch him cautiously, but his face is lined with fear. And that line of blood is drying on the tanned skin.  
"Do what?" he asks.  
"Wait for you to die. Wait for me to die. Wait for the inevitable." Danny doesn't know where the words come from. He knows they're true though.  
"Not this again," Steve sighs, rubbing his hands over his face as though he can wipe away the exhaustion. He smears the blood a little and Danny's heart twists.  
"No. It's not the same. I always thought you were going to get me killed, because you were reckless and mindful only of the outcome and not how we got there. But you aren't like that now, babe," Danny continues. "You're more careful. You don't get me shot on a bi-weekly basis. Now you get you shot-to keep me safe."  
"Grace," Steve says with a shrug, "and Charlie. You are more important."  
"No, I'm not," Danny sighs. He storms closer to Steve and curls his fingers into the hair at the nape of Steve's neck. "You are just as important as my children, because I love you just as much."  
Danny presses his lips to Steve's. The kiss is soft, returned immediately and without question, and then he pulls back. Steve looks awestruck, a nervous smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "S'why I can't do it anymore," Danny says. He drops his arms, his fingers tucking into his trouser pockets, and he walks away.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, it turns out I wrote a short follow up for this one!

Later that night, after mulling over his decisions and choices and actions, Danny arrives at Steve's house and lets himself in. 

He knows Steve will be sleeping, because his routine is rigid, so he shucks off his shoes and heads for the stairs. That's when he notices the lamp on in the dining room and the back door swinging slightly in the breeze. Decisively, Danny tugs off his socks too, and heads barefoot for the beach. 

Steve is a small shape on the horizon, visible only because of the brilliant moonlight above. Danny settles onto the sand to watch and wait. Steve swims like this when he is troubled, and Danny knows its probably-definitely-his fault. So he waits, his hands clasped around his knees. 

He isn't sure how long it takes for Steve to come back to the shore. He rises from the ocean like some sort of God. Danny shivers at the sight of the naked flesh before him and struggles to force his mind back to the task at hand.  
"I called first, but you didn't pick up," he says. Steve nods, then rubs his towel over his head and draws in a shaky breath. Danny waits a little more.  
"You kissed me, " Steve says finally.  
"I did," Danny agrees.  
"Why?" 

Danny huffs a soft laugh into the night and waits for Steve to sit beside him. "Because I'm in love with you, idiot," he says.  
"But you can't do it, this, us anymore. You said . . . are you quitting five-oh or me, or both, or-" Steve stops himself and stares into this distance.  
"None of those. I can't keep lying to myself that this isn't what it is. I can't keep imagining that you're putting me before you because you think you are somehow worth less. I don't know how you feel about me, about whatever this might be, but I couldn't keep pretending just to be your buddy. Okay?"  
Steve nods and then presses his lips gently to Danny's forehead for the briefest of moments, before turning away. 

"Okay," he says.


End file.
